There is a great need in the art for a method of non-destructively tracking RNA production both in vitro and in vivo. For example, in stem cell or gene therapies, a cell is used in the therapy, and it would be very beneficial to know whether that cell expresses particular mRNAs as a measure of whether it has properly differentiated. This would be a very useful tool as we continue to develop cell-based therapies or understand cellular pathologies.
Thus, what is needed in the art are better methods of monitoring gene expression in cells in an in vivo or ex vivo environment. The ideal method would provide good sensitivity, be compatible with patient use, as well as allow the measurement of multiple transcripts at the same time. This application addresses one or more or those needs.